Francis Barber Pupil Referral Unit, London
Data last updated 11 Sept 2026
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Ofsted Insights
What This School Does Well
This school excels at turning around students' attitudes to education - many arrive having given up on school but leave with GCSEs and plans for college. The unit creates an exceptionally safe and supportive environment where behaviour improves dramatically, helping students successfully return to their original schools. Teachers form strong relationships with students and use excellent questioning techniques to build confidence and develop speaking and listening skills.
Key Strengths
- Behaviour and safety of students are outstanding, with many pupils making great strides in improving behaviour and returning successfully to mainstream schools
- Almost all Year 11 students gain GCSE or vocational qualifications and progress to further education, training or specialist provision
- Teaching is good and some is outstanding, with excellent support for students' emotional, social and emotional well-being
- The unit's outreach service is effective in helping improve students' behaviour in mainstream schools across the local authority
- Senior leaders work very closely with each student's mainstream school to plan programmes that match student needs exceptionally well
Areas for Improvement
- Not enough outstanding teaching to result in excellent achievement across all lessons
- Staff do not always give students enough opportunities to learn independently - sometimes lessons have too much teacher explanation
- Work set in some lessons is not consistently challenging enough
- Subject leaders do not have sufficient opportunities to check the quality of teaching and learning in their areas
- Information on the unit's performance is not summarised well enough to identify trends and areas for improvement
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective in protecting students.
Francis Barber Pupil Referral Unit is a good school that supports students who are permanently excluded or at risk of exclusion. Almost all Year 11 students gain GCSE or vocational qualifications and move successfully to further education, training or specialist provision.
At a Glance
82.0%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Class Sizes
0.0
Avg class size
0
Total classes
2024/25 academic year
Getting There
Train Stations
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Bus Stops
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
52%
Available places
62 pupils
120 capacity
58 spare places available
Area Demand Pressure - London
Based on MHCLG housing supply data for London
Admissions Demand - Wandsworth
Places available
2,095
Applications
2,182
Got 1st preference
64.3%
Got preferred school
92.9%
Secondary admissions across Wandsworth (2025/26)
Inspection History(11)
House Prices
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SEN Provision
How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.
Pupil Demographics
The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.
Teachers & Staff
Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.
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Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Francis Barber Pupil Referral Unit
Gatton (VA) Primary School
Smallwood Primary School and Language Unit
St Boniface RC Primary School
Sellincourt Primary School
Tooting Primary School
Fircroft Primary School
Franciscan Primary School
Hillbrook School
Garfield Primary School
St Anselm's Catholic Primary School
Showing 10 of 15 linked schools
Nearby Schools
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